Dispute between DA, former prosecutor likely headed to trial

BOSTON – A legal dispute between the Plymouth County district attorney and one of his former top prosecutors is likely headed to trial after the two sides failed to reach a settlement this week.

John Bradley, a former Plymouth County prosecutor who sued District Attorney Timothy Cruz after he was fired in 2012, met with his former boss this week to try to reach a settlement, but a magistrate judge determined after the meeting that the two sides were unlikely to reach a settlement and should prepare for a trial instead.

Bradley’s attorney, Robert Sinsheimer, declined to comment on the meeting Thursday. Mintz Levin, a Boston law firm hired to represent the district attorney’s office, released a statement saying the mediation was “unsuccessful.”

“We went into the mediation with the hopes of resolving this issue,” the statement read. “We respect the integrity of the mediation process and therefore cannot discuss any details.”

Bradley’s lawsuit, filed last November, accuses Cruz and his top staff of firing Bradley because he raised concerns about Cruz’s handling of the office and refused to donate to his re-election campaign. The lawsuit claims Bradley’s firing was a violation of state civil rights and whistleblower laws and seeks $1.5 million in damages.

Cruz’s office has repeatedly denied the accusations made by Bradley, who it has described as an unhappy employee who refused to work with superiors, ignored instructions and sought to undermine the district attorney. Cruz’s office said in a court filing that Bradley was fired because he was “insubordinate,” not because he refused to donate to Cruz’s re-election campaign.

Despite disagreements on a wide range of facts in the case, the two sides filed a joint motion in U.S. District Court in May asking a judge to freeze proceedings in the lawsuits so they could enter into mediation to settle the dispute. After their meeting Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Jerome Niedermeier filed a report saying he felt any further efforts to settle the case would be “unlikely to be productive.”

Contact Neal Simpson at nesimpson@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @NSimpson_Ledger.